Tag: grandmother

How To Pay Attention When Your Grandkids Talk To You

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Last weekend we had a workday at our church that started at 7am. Since it is a volunteer army, people came in as soon as they were able to, y gracias a Dios, because we had a lot of work to do. Men women and children were ready to work. Asi es, the little children were very excited to work and have fun. Is that even possible? Por supuesto que si! I put on their perspective and got to work and for the most part had fun.
We worked hard, our long list had almost been tackled by noon. We were starving! We were all ready for the best part of “church cleanup day” Lunch time! One of the ladies had volunteered to cook for us all and we were hungrily anticipating her delicious Mexican food. We showed much self restraint as the food was unloaded and everyone noisily lined up for grubbing.
I had the privilege of sitting next to Rachel Greene, mi nieta and her friends. She was busy talking, she stopped her conversation to welcome her D’ma, then went right back to her conversation. Which was good because I wanted to eat. so I listened. Hijole! That 6 year old was deep!


Rachel: When I get to heaven (Amen, loved her confidence in the God who healed her) I can’t wait to meet Jesus and then I’m gonna ask him something. (ooh I was curious, what could be the first thing a 6 year little girl would ask the creator of the universe? I jumped into that convo just as soon as I was done chewing my morsel)
Me: What are you going to ask him Rachel?
Rachel: I’m going to ask Him how many hairs are on my head. (Que? Why was that so important? Did it really matter? Then I remembered that Jesus said (Luke 12:7) “even the very hairs on your head are all numbered” If it an important detail to God, then it was important to Rachel, Por supuesto, I was reminded of how much the details of my life mattered to God and I need not to worry)
Me: Wow! That’s a great question Rachel. ( I did chuckle to myself as I thought of those men who already knew the answer)
While I was chomping on some more chicken, Lorraine also had a question for God.
Lolo: I’m going to ask God who his mother was. (I put on my “theology” and tried to explain that God didn’t have a mother)
Lolo: Everyone has a mother.
Me: Well but he is God, he has always been. He’s the great I Am. (Ya te imaginas! Lorraine stared at me blankly, or maybe she was worried for me? Especially since I am her Sunday school teacher. I was humbled at their desire to know the details of God and their curiosity about Him, I mean, he is interested in all the details of our lives.)


Faith like a child, simple and literal, wouldn’t life be easier if I could just let go and believe?


Luego, that evening, while we were celebrating Emerys birthday, now a married man at the ripe old again of 26. Jeremiah, my 3 year old grandson, wanted to touch the birthday cake, the blue swirled frosting lured him.

Me: Jeremiah do not stick your finger in the cake.
Jeremiah: D’ma I’m just looking at it. (but temptation got the most of him, his finger had a mind of it’s own and his lips now had blue frosting on them)
Me: Jeremiah, I told you not to touch the cake. Get down off that chair.
Jeremiah: Ok. I’m sorry D’ma.
Me: (I didn’t hear him, so I didn’t acknowledge his apology) Jeremiah get off the chair.
Jeremiah: D’ma do you D’didme?
Me: What? Jeremiah I asked you to get off the chair.
Jeremiah (pausing from his descent and looking me in the eyes) I said, do you d’didme?
Me: Jeremiah (I sighed heavily) I don’t understand what you’re saying, but you need to get down from the chair.
Jeremiah: (As he heard the warning in my voice he continued getting off the chair but still said once more, this time separating his words) D’ma, I said, du you da div me?
Me: (the lights turned on! I understood him) Do I forgive you? (He smiled and nodded) Of course I do Jeremiah. (He started back up the chair!) Yes, I forgive you, but you still must get off the chair, now.
Fijate, how this little guy was calculating the conversation. If I forgave him, then we picked up where we left off. Isn’t that how forgiveness should be? Our hearts light with a burden lifted. Already at 3 years old he was figuring out forgiveness. I remembered that, like Jeremiah, sometimes I need that assurance, that eye contact, the recognition of forgiveness and using persistence is good.


En Conclusíon


I really enjoy talking to my grandkids, they are the smartest kids in the whole wide world! I Often walk away with a gem. Por supuesto, that it requires that I slow down and listen y aunque no lo crees, strong latina women have that rep of taking over a conversation, well maybe just this one. Pero, I do slow down, it takes a minute and patience. Te lo recomiendo, it can get deeper than you realize.


You know that saying “An apple a day, keeps the doctor away” I think that “A talk with my grandkids, keeps grumpy away” Have a beautiful weekend, y que Dios los bendiga.

How to Remove Dinosaur Hair from a Three Year Old’s Nostril

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Daily Benefits from God

I read a scripture that arrested me: Psalms 68:19 Bless be the Lord who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation. (NKJ version) Of course I “know” that, o no? I mean, daily, todo los dias, he abundantly gives us benefits, yet so many times, I haven’t paid attention. I’ve taken for granted God’s constant watch over us, protecting us and wanting us to enjoy life. I decided I needed to pay more attention by counting my blessings. God is good always, he keeps a good eye on my inheritance (mis nietos)  for sure.

Grandkids bring such joy to our daily lives, bringing laugh out loud moments. Sometimes the weight of stuff distracts us and we don’t realize what an incredible benefit grandkids and laughter are to our lives.

Jeremiah and the Dinosaur Hair 

So it happened this past Wednesday night, Jonathan, mi hijo, and his family were home from church, they had a great midweek service. That was the report I got from the pastor’s wife, Denise, who just happens to be mi nuera, Jonathan’s wife. Winding down five hyper but tired children is not an easy task. When the lights were out and finally, not a creature was stirring, even impatient little Uriah was asleep. Denise, my daughter in law was herself entering that second stage of sleep where the brain slows down and eye movement stops. Sweet rest was descending. 

Derepente! Jeremiah, her three year old, burst into the room! Esperate. This is a common nightly occurrence and it always disturbs the peace. He was squirmy and mumbling something about his nose and his dinosaur. Denise was tired and groggy. During the day she has to be in complete focus mode to interpret his lively conversation and that is hard enough! Night time interpretation is impossible. Besides, he should be sleeping, not talking or playing with his dinosaur still!

Mommy: Jeremiah you need to go back to bed.

Jeremiah: mumble mumble…my nose.

Mommy: Jeremiah, then go blow your nose. 

He hurries to blow his nose and comes back to the room.

Jeremiah: Mommy, mumble mumble, dinosaur mumble nose…

Mommy: Jeremiah…please get back in bed.

Jeremiah: mumble mumble, dinosaur.

Ahora si, my son wakes up to hear him talking about his dinosaur and assuming he wants somebody to play with him, he orders him back to bed.

Daddy: Jeremiah go back to bed. (Groggy but stern voice)

Jeremiah, turned around and went back to bed where his dinosaur awaited. No use arguing with stubborn and tired parents. Somehow he managed to sleep again, another night time episode was over and all was quiet in the house, good night stuffy dinosaur.

In the morning, the busyness of breakfast and school kept everyone occupied. Ama was coming over for P.E. and deskwork had to be completed. While the girls were finishing their  last assignment, Denise went to put the baby down for a nap, y otra vez just as he was dozing off, Jeremiah burst into the room.

Jeremiah: Mommy mumble mumble my nose.

Mommy: What is it Jeremiah? 

Jeremiah: something in my nose.

That’s when Denise noticed a white string hanging out of his nose. Asi es.

Mommy: What in the World? Come here Jeremiah, what is that? 

She pulled on the string and Jeremiah sneezed, spraying her. Pero, the string didn’t budge! Jeremiah squirmed. Denise pulled again, causing him to sneeze again. Hijole! Jeremiah has big nostrils for a three year old and out of one nostril came out a big white snot ball! Denise was able to grab the “specimen” into a diaper wipe and clean off all the mucus that had formed around it. A white spongy mass the size of a pea was revealed. Que?! When Jeremiah saw it, he recognized it.

Mommy: What is this Jeremiah?

Jeremiah: It’s dinosaur hair!

By the time I arrived and heard the story, Jeremiah had been listening and needed to correct and change it a bit. He had a story to tell his ama, mommy had obviously missed some very important parts in the story.

After hearing Denise’s version I decided to ask Jeremiah what happened, he was waiting for his chance, get the camera rolling Ama!. Here’s my attempt at interpreting Jeremiah’s account, with  translation from his mother.

“Here’s my dinosaur. He has an owie. Here and here and here and here. I prayed for him. He’s gonna die. I went like this (he put the dinosaur to his face) and I got his hair in my nose. I went to tell my mommy. I told her I needed my Bibleman costume to help him. 

En Conclusion:

Ves, God’s providence is beautiful! We can’t always see or know all the things a curious toddler does, objects in the nose can be painful and/or dangerous, gracias a Dios that the string was detectable and my lil Jeremiah was able to quickly sneeze out that “dinosaur hair” I wish I could say that he learned a lesson, pero mi hijo, says that Jeremiah walks into every imaginable and unimaginable situation possible! Y me pregunto, How in the world could we even live without the loads of benefits God provides daily? 

El Amor De Los Abuelos

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It’s Thanksgiving week, de verdad que, it’s a good time to see God’s hand at work, he leaves his fingerprints all over our lives. I’m getting old you know, I know you can’t tell …Pero, with more than 5 decades of living, I’ve got some good living experiences under my apron. Imaginate! Soy abuela. Not abuelita or grandma, pero  D’ma or Ama . One of my greatest pleasures is that Grandmother title. How can I describe it? 

It is a daunting time when your first baby is placed into your arms because he wants to nurse, demanding his hunger to be satisfied. His well being, his provision, protection, shaping of his character and his prosperity is in your hands. In that moment all you can think of is calming down a screaming baby and from that point on every one of your senses studies and learns that child and the ones to come. A realization is born that what I do matters, mother bear is on alert. Pero, when that welcoming door to grandparenting opened wide for me. I never would have imagined how that mixture of parent and Santa Claus molecules transfer into your mind and heart once you see that little part of you. That pregnancy announcement is a thrilling chemical reaction to new grandparents!

As a child, I never did experience the love of a grandparent. Mine passed away long before my existence. My apa did give me a tiny pinch of what my grandparents were like, where sometimes I might even see some of my abuelo Angel or my abuela Rosarios genes in us. I have often wondered what life is with a grandparent nearby and accessible. My kids had their Tata mostly in his older years. I do remember how crazy with love my ama would get when her grandkids were near. “Que cosita fina”, she’d utter as this fine little delicate thing laid in her arms. It is an amazing wonder to experience. Almost as if a whole new well of vibrant love is dug up in the land of my inheritance, just for a grandchild.. 

Thanksgiving day is a hustle and bustle day in the kitchen for me. Starting with Ben’s sourdough pancakes. This Thanksgiving was no different except that my apa wasn’t with us and I missed him. En la cocina, I was busy cooking, enough for an army and cleaning to make room for the next dish. Ben led us in prayer, but before that he thanked God for me. Then we prayed my apas prayer and Ben remembered the Greene family prayer too. Now, we could pounce the counter top where the feast lay unawares. I enjoyed my familia, then I stayed on my feet til not a creature was stirring, I dropped into bed sometime before midnight, sweet sleep until the clock struck midnight. A text, then a call from my son, “looks like it’s time Ma, can you come?”

Immediately I was alert. I calmly got ready, making sure I had the important stuff, coffee and Daniella’s pumpkin cookies. I was in my car within 20 minutes. Hijole! No gas for the 20 minute drive. Pues hay voy, getting gas at 1 a.m. before getting on the freeway. It was a smooth drive but Jonathan and Denise were already in their car, he was calling me, I was 5 minutes away. I:53 a.m. After a brief check on Denise, calm and focused, they were off. I quietly went into the house to laydown with Jeremiah. This 2 year old uses a whole king size bed! Twenty minutes later I asked if all was well. “She’s at 7 centimeters” Wow! Yet I dozed off anyway. Jeremiah stirred, reaching for his momma, touching my face in the dark as his little body got close for a snuggle. Yikes! His little hands didn’t recognize me and he sat up and peered in the dark, I kept my eyes closed. Oh how I wanted to comfort him. I felt so sorry for my little grandson. Los Mexicanos, or maybe it’s just the Zepedas have this saying, along these lines “te va a tumbar el burro muy pronto” Which means, you’ll no longer be “king of the hill” or the baby of the house because another is coming. I wondered if little Jeremiah could know how his life would change, especially as he was going from baby to big brother in a matter of centimeters. Jeremiah was studying the situation and his surroundings, probably wondering how his D’ma was in the bed. He looked around and after a while he said, very sleepily 

“Hi Ma” He was calm. He seemed reconciled with the situation and I was relieved. 

“Mommy?” He said. 

“She went to get the baby.O.k.?” Like it was the most normal thing to do. Maybe it is? Her water bag broke at midnight and she had to go out in the dark to get her baby.

“O’tay” he quietly responded, like he wasn’t surprised.   He seemed reconciled with the situation and I was so relieved.

He sat there for a long time, his head heavy with sleep, but he did lay back down and we both had a moment of sweet slumber before I heard the door rattling open. Que?!

“Jonathan! What happened?”

“Didn’t you get the text I sent Ma?”

I looked at my phone and there in my phone, laid my 8th grandchild in his fathers arms. “Que cosita tan fina” He had come into this world just before 3 a.m.

For her 5th delivery Denise had chosen to have her care and delivery at a birthing center; Best Start. Mi hijo didn’t know what to do with all the holistic and natural techniques! He’s used to the clinical methods of the hospital 😀 

“Do you want to get in the tub with her?”

“Do you want to stick your hand in the water to touch the baby’s head?”

“Do you want to keep the placenta?”

“Do you want to take your shirt off for skin to skin with your baby? 

For Denise, it might have been her best experience. She was given liberty to choose her positions and nature took its course. The midwife quickly prepared the tub and herself as mi nuera warned that she needed to push. Mi nietecito poked his head out, decided which way he would make his appearance and tada he made his entrance. Denise was cleaned up and ready for some rest… which she would do at home as soon as Jonathan ran home to get her things. Baby was born at 3 am and by 7:45 a.m. she was back home and by nine his apa came to meet his name sake. Benjamin Walter holds Uriah Benjamin, bien chulo! This little Ben was our 3rd generation of Benjamins, I knew my flaco was honored, I had said to my son that it was fitting and a new tradition for the San Diego Greenes to name their 2nd son Benjamin.

This sounded like a fitting labor and delivery experience for this “get it quick” era. I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences.  It was definitely a beautiful experience for us all, it seemed to close with “HappyThanksgiving and bienvenida es la Navidad. Merry Christmas.” We’ve all had a chance to meet the new baby and rejoice with our son. I am a pleased abuela and very thankful for more increase. 

En Conclusion

Mi hijo says that I’ve turned soft in my abuela era. I don’t know about that, mis nietos know I don’t mess with serious infractions like lying and disobedience and straight up rebellion. I’m quick to put on my mom hat, but I do put it on super lightly. I mean, la abuela doesn’t truly bring down the hammer right? So here’s how it works, if I put out the warning I must follow through so I’m careful how I warn, pues, they are my grandchildren after all and I will show the tough love if my must, but I truly prefer to display the soft sweet love. Gracias a Dios por mis amorcitos.